Jon Davison

Jon Davison (born January 16, 1971) is an American singer, musician and songwriter who has been the lead vocalist of progressive rock band Yes since 2012.
He was previously the lead singer of progressive rock band Glass Hammer from 2009 to 2014, and the bass guitarist of Sky Cries Mary from 1993 to 2016, in which he was credited under his nickname of "Juano" Davison. In 2020, he and fellow Yes member Billy Sherwood created a new band, Arc of Life, which released its eponymous first studio album the following year and its second album in 2022. Davison also works regularly with John Lodge, who is also his father-in-law.
Career
Early years
Davison's earliest involvement with music began when he sang in the church youth choir led by his mother. From an early age, she instilled in him an appreciation for music and love for singing. Soon after, he took up guitar and bass, which eventually led him during High School to perform in various original and cover bands with his childhood best friend, Taylor Hawkins (who was later the drummer for Foo Fighters). It was Hawkins who gave Jon the nickname "Juano" that has stuck to this day.
Sky Cries Mary
Davison then attended the Art Institute of Seattle to study audio and video production where he became bassist for Northwest group Sky Cries Mary. Throughout the 1990s, he continued recording and touring with the band. This included traveling to Japan, and appearing on late night talk shows including Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Daily Show.
In 2001, Davison and his then wife Maewe moved for a year to her home of Brazil. While living there, Davison played bass with Ronald Augusto.
In November 26, 2016, Sky Cries Mary premiered a new line-up without Davison.
Glass Hammer
While still a member of Sky Cries Mary, Davison also joined the now-disbanded Yes tribute band Roundabout. In 2009, Glass Hammer discovered Davison singing Yes music online and asked him to join the band. He went on to record five albums with them, If, Cor Cordium, Perilous, a new version of The Inconsolable Secret and Ode to Echo. He was the lead vocalist on the first three, and sharing that role on Ode to Echo given his engagements with Yes; he subsequently left the band to focus on Yes.
On the 2018 Cruise to the Edge festival, Davison performed live with Glass Hammer as a guest; as Glass Hammer was mainly a studio project when he was a member, it marked the first time he performed with them live.
He guested on one track of Glass Hammer's 2022 album At the Gate.
Yes
In February 2012, Davison was announced as the new lead singer of Yes, replacing Benoît David, who left the group because of illness. "Strangely enough, Jon's name came up when we started working with Benoit," Yes bassist Chris Squire recalled. "In fact, my friend, Taylor Hawkins, had been telling me for years: 'If you ever need a replacement (singer), I know exactly the guy.'" Davison has described how the band had a tour booked when David dropped out, "so there was sort of this frantic race to resolve this matter [...] because they weren't going to back out of the tour. So in the same moment, perhaps even the same hour, of the same day, Chris is calling Taylor to get my phone number, because he's gonna give me a call, and then the manager is also working on contacting me, so I got contacted by both of them."
Davison has toured with Yes since joining the band, and sang lead on 2014's studio album Heaven & Earth. He wrote or co-wrote seven out of the eight tracks.
In July 2020, Davison said the band were at work writing their next album, stating that it was still in the early stages of compiling demos, but the band has half an album of material ready. The Quest, Yes's second studio album to feature lead vocals by Davison, was released in October 2021. A new album, Mirror to the Sky, was released in May 2023.
Work with John Lodge
In February 2019, during the Cruise to the Edge music cruise, Davison became friends on board with John Lodge of the Moody Blues when Davison began dating John's daughter Emily. Davison has since toured with John as an additional vocalist. He appears on Lodge's live album The Royal Affair And After.
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Davison provided backing vocals on Lodge's single, "In These Crazy Times". Lodge wrote and recorded the song in his home studio, and Jon appears alongside John's son, Kristian, and his wife, Kirsten. Emily managed the project.
As of 2022, Davison and Emily are engaged.
Other
Davison and drummer Taylor Hawkins were friends from childhood. In 2015, Davison appeared at a Foo Fighters concert, playing with Hawkins, to perform the Rush song "Tom Sawyer" with them. In August 2019, Davison joined the Foo Fighters in concert in Dublin, Ireland to sing the Queen song "Under Pressure" with Taylor Hawkins while Dave Grohl took over on drums. He performed at the Los Angeles tribute show to Hawkins in 2022.
In July 2020, Davison described a new side project with fellow Yes member Billy Sherwood and Yes touring drummer Jay Schellen called Arc of Life. Their self-titled debut album was released the following year on February 12, 2021. Featuring vocalist Jon Davison, bassist/vocalist Billy Sherwood, drummer Jay Schellen, keyboardist Dave Kerzner, and guitarist Jimmy Haun, their second album Don't Look Down was released on 18 November 2022.
Davison has worked more broadly with Kerzner, including singing in his In Continuum project.
Discography
Arc of Life
Arc of Life (2021) - lead vocals
Don't Look Down (2022) - lead vocals
Glass Hammer
If (2010) – lead and backing vocals
Cor Cordium (2011) – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
The Stories of H.P. Lovecraft (2012, collaborative album of different artists) - lead and backing vocals on "Cool Air"
Perilous (2012) – lead and backing vocals
The Inconsolable Secret (2013 re-recording) – lead vocals
Ode to Echo (2014) – lead and backing vocals
Untold Tales (2017, compilation of previously unreleased/rare material) - lead and backing vocals on "Cool Air", backing vocals on "A Grain of Sand"
Sky Cries Mary
This Timeless Turning (1993) – bass
Moonbathing on Sleeping Leaves (1997) – bass
Fresh Fruits for the Liberation (1998) – bass
Seeds (1999) – bass
Here and Now (2005) – bass
Small Town (2007) – bass
Space Between the Drops (2009) – bass
Taking The Stage: 1997–2005 (2011) – bass, percussion, acoustic guitar, backing vocal
Yes
Studio albums
Heaven & Earth (2014) – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
The Quest (2021) - lead and backing vocals, guitar
Mirror to the Sky (2023) - lead & backing vocals
Live albums
Like It Is: Yes at the Bristol Hippodrome (2014) – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, keyboards
Like It Is: Yes at the Mesa Arts Center (2015) – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, keyboards
Topographic Drama - Live Across America (2017) - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, keyboards
Yes 50 Live (2019) - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, keyboards
The Royal Affair Tour: Live from Las Vegas (2020) - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
Guest appearances
Tales from the Edge: A Tribute to the Music of Yes (2012) – lead vocals and tambourine on "Starship Trooper" with The Samurai of Prog
Absinthe Tales of Romantic Visions by Mogador (2012) – lead vocals on "The Sick Rose"
The Birds of Satan by The Birds of Satan (2015) - backing vocals on "Pieces of the Puzzle" and "Raspberries", co-wrote "Raspberries"
Citizen by Billy Sherwood (2015) - lead vocals on "Written in the Centuries"
Lost and Found by The Samurai of Prog (2016) - lead vocals on "She (Who Must be Obeyed)"
Chaptersend by Mogador (2017) - backing vocals on "Josephine's Regrets"
"Difference" (single) by Edison's Lab (2018) - backing vocals
A Life in Yes—The Chris Squire Tribute by various artists (2018) - lead vocals on "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" and "Parallels"
Yesterday and Today – A 50th Anniversary Tribute to Yes by Sonic Elements (2018) - lead vocals on "Acoustic Medley"
Acceleration Theory Part One: AlienA by In Continuum (2019) - vocals on "Crash Landing", "Scavengers" and "Meant to Be"
Planetary Overload Part 1: Loss by United Progressive Fraternity (2019) - backing vocals on two tracks
Get the Money by Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders (2019) - on "Crossed the Line"
Acceleration Theory Part Two: Annihilation by In Continuum (2019) - vocals
A Prog Rock Christmas by various artists (2019) - vocals on "Run with the Fox"
A Tribute to Keith Emerson & Greg Lake by various artists (2020) - vocals on "C'est la Vie"
Love Is by Steve Howe (2020) - backing vocals, bass
On the Ending Earth... by Anyone (2020) - fretless bass on "Thought I Was"
Cov3r to Cov3r (2020) by Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy and Randy George - lead vocals on 1 track
"In These Crazy Times (The Isolation Mix)" (2020; digital single) by John Lodge - backing vocals
In Humanity by Anyone (2021) - lead vocals on "Misanthropist"
Animals Reimagined – A Tribute to Pink Floyd by various artists (2021) - vocals on "Pigs on a Wing 2"
You Have It All by Lobate Scarp (2022) - vocals on "You Have It All"
Songs We were Taught by Prog Collective (2022) - lead vocals on "The Sound of Silence"
Seeking Peace by Prog Collective (2022) - vocals on "A Matter of Time"
The Traveler by Dave Kerzner (2022) - vocals on "Feels Like Home"
Days of Future Passed — My Sojourn by John Lodge - lead vocals on 2 tracks
References
External links
Yes (band) members
Living people
1971 births
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American multi-instrumentalists
American male singer-songwriters
21st-century American singer-songwriters